dogdad

1999 LS. Has anyone replaced a hood hinge on similar models? Any advice? The bottom part of the hinge is under the rear front fender. Does the fender and liner have to be completely removed to do the job? Will try to post pics later. Thanks.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

why not call a body shop for an answer?

Bylan

I have not heard that the fender liner needs to be removed, but the whole side fender does need to be removed. One day I'll be replacing the hood hinges due to the previous owner failing to latch it properly and allowing the hood to open at highway speeds. Bent the hood hinges up 1" and cracked the windshield. Real bummer and won't be fun to replace so I'm living with it for the moment. I've seen a tutorial somewhere for removing the hinges on an SC300/400 and it is a very similar process, haven't seen a guide for the LS.

CELSI0R

As mentioned, the side fender will need to be removed to replace the hinge. Technically, the fender liner, rocker panel cover, and bumper cover should be removed, too.

I would remove the liner to get better access to the inside of the fender, and to study where all of the fasteners are, prior to removal. The bumper cover is annoying to remove, so just be careful not to stress it when removing the fender, if you leave it on. Use masking tape or painter's tape to protect bordering surfaces. Make sure that all bolts attaching the bumper to the fender are located and accounted for.

If it helps, mark the position of the nuts holding the fender onto the car with a marker first (permanent marker may be preferable, but leaves marks). These will help you realign the panel when you put it back on. I've taken the bumper and fenders off of earlier LS models a few times.

Also, Google pictures of the fender panel, bumper, and maybe some disassembled 1998-2000 LS 400s to give you an idea of how the parts attach to each other, before you start.

Attached is a picture of how the hinge mounts on a 1990-1994 LS 400. The two bolts attaching the hinge to the fender apron are only visible when the fender is off the car.

dogdad

Thanks for the advice. That's helpful. I bought this as a project car, though it has turned out more of a project than expected. I've done some routine maintenance in the past on cars but not really a "car guy."

Since I haven't found much documentation, I'll try to log this misadventure to contribute to the community.
The car hood had trouble latching since I got it. Doing a test drive and going over a speed bump, it seems that the latch snapped. I looked around, and the best deal seemed to be from lexuspartsnow ($50 with shipping).

broken hood hinge

New part from lexus parts now

The lower part of the hinge is still on the car and behind the front fender.

I put the top part of the hinge temporarily back on so you can get sense of placement.

Broken lower part of hinge under fender corner. Plant life came with the car.

I'm trying to figure out where the bolts are to remove the fender. I've removed most of the liner fasteners (more on that later) to get a better look at the inside of the fedner to see where the fender bolts are. I've removed the easy fasteners on top and the one behind the headlight. There are only three at the top.

dogdad

Thanks to Celsior for his help.

Just some pictures to guide removing the liner. Not sure I have shown all the locations. Also the a section front part of the liner was damaged and a retainer may have been associated with that. I also have not removed the small bolts that hold very front bottom of the liner because I'm not sure that it's necessary.


These are not all the retainers. There are 2-3 more in the well area and 3 or so smaller bolts in the front bottom. Just showing the type of retainers.

Showing the location of retainers in the rear section of liner. One at very bottom right is not shown. May be missing one location.

Showing the location of retainers in the front section of liner. May be missing one location.